1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to artificial Christmas trees and in particular to a new and improved branch holder for pivotally securing a plurality of artificial Christmas tree branches to the trunk of an artificial Christmas tree.
2. Prior Art
Artificial Christmas trees are well known. Most artificial Christmas trees comprise a multiplicity of separate branches each formd of a plurality of plastic needles held together by twisting a pair of wires about them. In other instances, the branches are formed by twisting a pair of wires about an elongated sheet of plastic material having a large multiplicity of transverse slits. In still other artificial Christmas trees, the branches are formed by injection molding of plastic.
Irrespective of the form of branch, the most common form of artificial Christmas tree comprises a wooden simulated trunk having a plurality of spaced apart apertures for reception of branches therein to thereby hold the branches in radially extending relation to the trunk to form the artificial Christmas tree. For purposes of storage, the branches are removable requiring the repositioning of the branches on the trunk each time the tree is reassembled. It is well known to reduce the difficulty of this task by color coding the apertures on the trunk with the ends of the branches.
To provide a tree which can be stored without occupying an unduly large amount of space and yet to avoid the need for totally dismantling the tree at the end of each Christmas season and reassembling at the beginning of the next, it has been proposed, as disclosed in a number of patents, to permanently pivotally affix the artificial branches of an artificial Christmas tree to the trunk thereof to permit movement of the branches between an outward lying position in which they are commonly used to a position in which they lie close to the trunk and thereby occupy a comparatively small space to permit storage of the tree. Such a structure was suggested in U.S. Pat. No. 1,683,637 issued to E. H. Trimpe on Sept. 11, 1928 as well as in U.S. Pat. No. 3,030,720 issued to Osswald et al on Apr. 24, 1962. However, both of these patents require elaborate assembly techniques, and in the case of the Osswald et al patent, a somewhat complex structure, thereby rendering both of these prior art patents of little importance in commercial development of artificial Christmas trees.
More recently, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,574,102 and 3,639,196, both issued to T. Hermanson, as well as pending U.S. application Ser. No. 631,446, now abandoned for Artificial Christmas Tree With Foldable Branches and Method of Making Same, Robert J. Weskamp, et al applicant, have disclosed other artificial Christmas trees with foldable branches. The structures disclosed therein, however, require that the trunk be apertured to permit insertion of either the rear ends of the branches or of a branch connecting member therein. In addition, the structure described in the two Hermanson patents requires some form of bifurcation at the ends of the branches, which bifuracation requires special tooling not heretofore employed in the making of artificial Christmas trees. Moreover, because the branches are adapted for disposition within the apertures which are fixedly distributed along the length of the trunk, the ultimate purchaser of the tree does not have the option of selecting different locations for the branches.
To avoid the necessity of aperturing the trunk, a number of patents have suggested providing a branch holder which may be secured to the trunk of the tree and to which a branch or branches may be secured for pivotal movement between an extended position and a collapsed position. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,708,324 issued to M. J. Wedden discloses a branch holder for pivotally securing a single branch to the trunk. However, the branch holder disclosed therein must be fixedly secured to the trunk, such as by welding. As in the case of artificial Christmas trees employing an apertured trunk, such direct welding of the branch holder to the trunk precludes the user of the tree from disposing the branches as he or she wishes. In addition, the additional assembly costs incurred in permanently affixing the branch holders to the trunk reduces the commercialability of the tree disclosed in that patent.
The problems presented by Wedden have been partially overcome by employing branch holders in the form of collars which may be distributed along the length of the trunk and to which a plurality of branches may be pivotally secured. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,616,107 issued to Kershner discloses a plastic collar in which pivoting movement of the branches is accommodated by hinged portions which join the branches to the main collar. According to this patent, however, the branches are integrally formed with the collar. Moreover, since the branches are only joined to the main collar through the thin hinge portions, which therefore bear the entire weight of the branch when same is in the collapsed position, possible failure of these collars with prolonged use is possible.
Lastly, Canadian Pat. No. 698,110 issued to A. Abramson as well as U.S. patent application Ser. No. 345,124, now abandoned, for An Artificial Christmas Tree Branch Holder, Method of Forming an Artifical Christmas Tree Therefrom and Resulting Artificial Christmas Tree, C. L. Chou, applicant, (Canadian patent application Ser. No. 233,975 based upon said abandoned U.S. application is currently pending) both disclose still additional collars which may be removably secured to the trunk of an artificial Christmas tree and to which a plurality of branches may be pivotally secured. However, both of these structural embodiments require special structures at the rear ends of the branches, such special structures requiring additional tooling and expense thereby reducing the commercialability of these structures.